


Superstition

by WhisperingSkies



Series: McReyes Fall Week 2017 [1]
Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Drabble, Light Angst, Mention of Animal Death, Post-Recall
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-17
Updated: 2017-10-17
Packaged: 2019-01-18 15:57:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 418
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12391410
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WhisperingSkies/pseuds/WhisperingSkies
Summary: Jesse McCree hears tales of The Reaper.(McReyes Fall Week - Day Three - Superstition)





	Superstition

The Reaper was just a legend. Tales of a tall man- or thing- clad in black, ghostly owl bones standing in place of a proper visage; everyone on base was certain the rumors were false. Everyone except for Jesse McCree. He knew better, having seen the monstrosity with his own eyes.

 _‘Shouldn’t be callin’ him a monster,’_ Jesse reprimands himself. _‘It ain't his fault.’_

He’s lazily draped over the couch in the rec room, listening to Hana and Genji tell ghost stories. The Reaper had come up most recently, and Lucio begins to seem nervous as the ex-Shimada’s melodically robotic voice spins tales of unending bullets. “He is made of smoke and ink,” Genji whispers ominously. “And he wears the bones of his victims as a mask.”

Jesse snorts. “He ain’t never killed an owl.”

The trio’s heads snap towards him. Hana bounces on her knees, eyeing Jesse suspiciously.

“How would you know?” 

It’s almost an accusation.

Sitting up, Jesse raises an eyebrow at her. His hat rests comfortably on the cushion nearby. It’s a quick debate in his own head, what to say, but the matter is settled the moment his mind flashes back to that day in the rain.

\--

_Drip_

_Drip_

_Avoid the puddle_

_Inhale_

_Need to quit smoking_

_Can’t quit, tried_

_Exhale_

_Drip_

_Wish I brought an umbrella_

_It’s not raining now_

_It might start up again_

_What’s that_

_Must’ve imagined-_

_There it is again_

_Am I being haunted?_

 

“You could call it that.”

The voice is unexpected, groaning out from behind him like a piece of old machinery starting up for the first time in years. Jesse spins on his heel, Peacekeeper at the ready- but his heavy heart knows it’s Gabriel before he even turns around.

\---

“Naw, I ain’t seen him,” Jesse smiles. “Just sounds ridiculous.” Hana eyes him for another moment before nudging Genji, who shrugs, continuing his tall tale.

\--

Later that night, Jesse returns to his room with a head full of regrets and a bottle empty of whiskey. It seems darker than usual as he pushes through the clutter, moving to lie down; a flash of something white in the dim moonbeams trickling through his window drags his attention away from sleep for another moment. The cowboy approaches his dresser, something twisting deep in his gut. Lying on the chipped wooden surface is the skull of an owl, a real one, still speckled with blood. He swears he hears someone laughing, but then again- The Reaper is only a superstition.


End file.
